title: The role of beta-catenin in cell adhesion, signal transduction, and cancer.
abstract: Beta-catenin is a multifunctional protein that is both an integral component of adherens junctions and a pivotal member of a signal transduction pathway. The cytoplasmic pool of beta-catenin, which participates in signal transduction, is highly regulated. Binding to the adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor protein can stimulate the degradation of beta-catenin, whereas signaling initiated by the extracellular Wnt-1 oncoprotein or selected mutations in beta-catenin itself results in the accumulation of higher levels of beta-catenin in the cytoplasm. A variety of experiments from several model systems have converged to elucidate the mechanisms involved in this regulation as well as the downstream effectors of beta-catenin. These studies have recently been extended to demonstrate that deregulation of this pathway contributes to cancer in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, NJ 08544, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Bullions
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000502:physiology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin
chemical_list: C495270:CTNNB1 protein, human; D015820:Cadherins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D051176:beta Catenin